Slovenian team celebrating during their match against Puerto Rico
Thessaloniki, Greece, June 25, 2016 - Slovenia saw off Puerto Rico in straight sets - 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-12), in Thessaloniki and secured their presence in the Final Four of FIVB Volleyball World League 2016 Group 3, after their fifth victory in a row.
Andrea Giani, coach of Slovenia: “For us it was important to win three points in this game and secure our place in the Final Four. In the second set we made some mistakes, but we achieved our goal. The level in Frankfurt will be different than in this tournament, but it will be an interesting experience for us. It will be the first time we play in a World League Final Four.”
Rafael Gaspar, coach of Puerto Rico: “Slovenia are a great team, they serve really well and they kept us off balance throughout the whole match. I think that we were flat emotionally, without the energy level and the consistency we had last night. Our opponents did an excellent job and they deserved to win. We have to regroup and come back stronger tomorrow.”
Tine Urnaut, captain of Slovenia: “We are happy to make it to the Final Four. I think we played well today and we hope that we will finish the tournament in a positive way tomorrow against Greece, before starting our preparation for the final stage in Frankfurt.”
Sequiel Sanchez, captain of Puerto Rico: “Slovenia have got great players with a lot of experience. They had great serving and we could not get up. Now we must get ready for tomorrow.”